Healthcare Coverage

Healthcare coverage

Social security and the CPAM (Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie)

Health insurance in France is managed by the national social security system. This is made up of a network of local branches, called the Caisses Primaires d’Assurance Maladie (CPAM).

The general French social security system is open to all students free of charge: once registered, you can request reimbursements of your medical costs, obtain a social security number and order your Carte Vitale health insurance card.

On average, the social security system will reimburse 70% of your doctor’s bills and between 15 to 100% of the costs of medication. In addition to this general system, complementary or top-up insurance (called mutuelles) can be purchased to complete the reimbursement up to a full coverage of all costs.

Mutuelles and complementary health insurance

Complementary health insurance plans, or mutuelles, are a top-up service covering the costs that remain once the social security has allocated its own reimbursement (e.g. the remaining 30% of doctor’s bills). Registration with a student mutuelle is optional but recommended. In order to be eligible for a mutuelle, you must already be registered with the French social security system. There are a large number of insurance plans available so it is a good idea to compare the options before choosing your own.

For more information about student mutuelles, you can visit the following pages:

• Aid to finance complementary health insurance (FR)
• « Île-de-France Mutuelle Santé » negotiated by the Ile-de-
  France region to provide access to care at advantageous rates
  (FR)
• How do you choose your student health insurance? (FR)
• Health care system and complementary health insurance (FR)
• Complementary health insurance comparator (FR)
• Heyme (FR)
• LMDE (FR)
• Maif (FR)

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